The Two That Lay Beneath The Tree
by AngonceNui
Summary: The world was different. She had thought it had been filled with fire and smoke, fear and hate. But what she saw before her was a world of light and color, peace and quiet. And she forgot of what had come before and came to rest by the tree. She gazed out into the world and wondered after what she had forgotten. But those she left shall never forget her.


**Author's Note: If you have not watched all of Volume 3, I would highly advise doing so to avoid potential spoilers and to provide proper context.**

The world, so filled with smoke and sparks and embers, faded to red. Then that red faded to white. Then the light gave way to black. And then the darkness was overcome by brilliant yellow.

The pain that had been blossoming throughout her body faded. No, not faded. It drifted. It drifted away as if propelled softly by a gentle breeze. The soothing touch of oblivion graced her.

But then, then she felt again. And she thought she felt the air. She thought she felt the sun - for what else could be the source of the brilliant yellow glow? And she thought she felt the dappling shadows of the leaves above her.

And so it was, as she opened her eyes in a slow flutter, that what she thought she felt was what she saw.

She lay quite under the tree. What type of tree it was she could not tell. For there was a shimmer to it. An unreal look to the seemingly firm trunk.

She looked about and saw that the world looked the same. Real and yet seeming to almost shimmer. No, shimmer was not really the right word, but she had no other words to describe it.

The landscape was like an illusion. A nearly perfect one that, despite its mimicry of reality, rang false. No, not false. Rather, it rang truer than anything the girl had ever known, if she had ever known much at all. The illusion was as if one her mind had created, unable to grasp what it saw and so making up the world as it went along.

The girl, henceforth lying still, stirred herself from her resting place. She turned her gaze down on herself. She lifted up her hands and held them before her.

The skin on her hands was as dark as night, yet the skin of her legs glowed in the warm light as brightly as gold.

No, it wasn't her skin. The black was cloth. The gold was metal, perhaps...what was the word?

No sooner had she thought it than it came to her. Bronze. Perhaps it was bronze. She looked at herself closer. Her chest was clad in similar fashion, but the hardened cloth - no, armor - seemed smoother, less rigid, less bright. About her waist fell what was like a great ribbon of red, and from her head another such ribbon seemed to flow.

Still, the two crimson ribbons seemed different somehow. As soon as she had thought, she remembered. One was of cloth. The other was of her hair.

She climbed to her feet, clad in brown, leather boots. She felt a collar of metal press about her neck, and she wondered who she was.

But wondering gave no answer.

Still, where wondering failed, wandering held the key. The girl of crimson and gold saw a pool of water. She walked over to the still pool and gazed within. And from within gazed out another.

No, not another. Herself.

Green gaze met green, and she remembered. She remembered everything.

She remembered her friends, her family, her home, her life, her name.

Pyrrha Nikos.

The world blurred and her eyes filled with tears as she remembered.

She remembered she had failed.

She had failed, and the world had been shattered and set alight.

A soft hum broke her from her misery. Pyrrha brushed the tears aside and looked about, searching for the source of the gentle humming.

It seemed to be coming from behind the tree. She walked slowly towards it, feeling no urge nor need to rush. For the sound was soothing. It was calm and somber, yet at the same time felt carefree, devoid of all worries.

Pyrrha leaned around the tree and gasped. For sitting on the grass, leaning against the very same tree she had was a girl with orange hair clad in white and grey overalls.

The humming stopped and the sitting girl glanced up and over at Pyrrha in surprise. Their green gazes met, one filled regret and sorrow, the other with innocent confusion.

"I know you," the girl said flatly, eyes wide as she gazed up at her new companion. Pyrrha remained frozen. "You're that Pyrrha girl from the tournament." She paused for a moment before shaking her head. "I don't think it turned out very well."

"Penny," Pyrhha breathed out the others name. She became unfrozen and stumbled backwards. "I'm so sorry..."

Penny gazed over at her confused. "About what?" She asked, puzzled.

"I...you...you died," Pyrrha could barely squeeze the words out, for they were strangely difficult despite - or perhaps because of - what was obviously her own condition. She placed her face in her hands. "It was all my fault."

A pair of hands touched Pyrrha's and drew them away from her distraught face. Pyrrha glanced up in surprise to see Penny standing right in front of her, no longer sitting beneath the tree.

"No," Penny said firmly.

"What?" Pyrrha breathed incredulously.

"No," Penny said again. "It wasn't your fault. You didn't know. Only Ruby knew." She paused and added as an afterthought. "And Ironwood, and some soldiers, and some other people. But you didn't know."

"But I...," Pyrrha began.

"No," Penny interrupted firmly, almost chipperly. Pyrrha let out a resigned sigh.

"You're not going to accept anything other than that, huh?" Pyrrha asked.

"No," Penny replied again.

"You know, now that I've met you, you're not all that easy to talk to," Pyrrha commented, her hands leaving Penny's as she leaned against the tree and slide down onto the grass.

"No," Penny replied promptly, now sitting beside Pyrrha as if she had never left her spot by the tree. They sat together in silence for what felt like a lifetime until Penny spoke once more. "I knew it would work."

"What?" Pyrhha glanced over in bemusement.

"I knew saying, no, would work, just like Ruby said it did," Penny replied, further confusing Pyrrha.

But then the confusion succumbed to sadness. Pyrrha thought back to the last thing she could remember. She could have sworn she had seen Ruby in the corner of her eye. She hoped and prayed she hadn't. Ruby had already been unable to save Penny. To have her watch and to have been helpless again was something Pyrrha did not desire.

"It worked with some fellow named Jaune - I think he was on your team. She talked to him about leadership and stuff and he got better," Penny continued to ramble on, Pyrrha only now paying attention at the name of her dear fried. Tears filled her eyes once more.

Penny must have noticed something was wrong for she asked, "What is wrong, Pyrrha?"

Pyrrha brushed the tears from her eyes once more and looked over to Penny.

"Jaune," she stuttered, trying not to cry. "I thought...for so long I'd thought I'd be alone all my life, and then I met him. Before...before I left him, we kissed," Pyrrha buried her head in her arms, her tears silently streaming down her face. "And now I'll never see him again, not really."

The air was quite for a while as Pyrrha's tears gently dripped down her cheeks and Penny appeared to be deep in contemplation. Then she spoke.

"What was it like?" She asked seriously.

"Huh?" Pyrrha lifted her head, distracted from her sorrows.

"What was life like?" Penny clarified, providing further explanation to her companion. "I did not get to live very long. Only about a year. I do not know much about life. Ruby showed me a lot. She showed me about friends. But I still do not know much." An inquisitive tone entered Penny's voice. "How long did you remain functional?"

"Seventeen," Pyrrha let a minuscule puff of dry laughter escape her lips at Penny's words. "I was going to turn eighteen soon."

Penny seemed contemplative once more.

"You must know a lot about life, then," Penny concluded. Pyrrha's eye's saddened.

"Not enough, it would seem," she replied ruefully, more to herself than to anyone else.

"Can you tell me?" Penny asked suddenly, Pyrrha glancing back once more. This time she did not need to even ask. "Can you tell me about life? About your life? I would very much like to know. Ruby said a lot of nice things about you."

"You want to know about me?" Pyrrha asked, unsure of whether to laugh or scoff. But Penny just nodded her head solemnly, and so Pyrhha gathered her breath and said, "okay, then. I guess this is my life story..."

And so the two sat there for a time untold, one speaking, letting her deepest sorrows free, while the other listened rapt, her curiosity sating itself on the other girl's words. And as they sat, the world became more.

Eventually they stood and ventured out into it together, curiosity sated and sadness freed. But what came next and what adventures they had is a tale to remain untold. For what they saw had become more. And it is beyond any of our poor words to describe it.

 **Post Story Author's Note: Thank you for reading. This was just a little one-shot of something I was inspired to write after I watched the season finale of Volume 3. If any of you have been reading my other story, I haven't stopped writing it. I had no intention to go on such a long hiatus, but things happen. Rest assured that I am doing my best to get the next chapter out there. As always, reviews of any manner are always welcome (although I would prefer they be constructive). I would end by saying rest in peace, Penny and Pyrhha, but this story already chronicles that rest, and they've begun a new journey.  
**


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